Sandy Rutledge knew he had run a good race at the Boston Marathon on Monday, but it wasn't until he checked his phone at the hotel after the race that he realized he had won his age division.
"I got text messages from people back home who had already been tracking it and following it," said Rutledge, who had dozens of messages of congratulations on his phone waiting for him. "I certainly have had people that I haven't heard from for years have sent messages and made calls.”
This was Rutledge's third time qualifying and running in the Boston Marathon.
It's a gruelling, hilly 42-kilometre race and Rutledge crossed the finish line in a speedy 3 hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds, almost two minutes faster that the next competitor in his 70 to 74 age bracket.
"For an older guy to run that, it was a good run for me," said Rutledge. "But again, I was surprised it put me at the top of my age group. I thought there were people in my age group who would probably run closer to three [hours]."
This was Rutledge's 16th marathon, an incredible feat considering he only ran his first marathon in 2014.
But he's not wasting any time either. He's already completed the World Major Marathon Series, which includes running the Tokyo, Berlin, London, Chicago, New York and Boston marathons.
And he's got others on his list.
"I'd like to run Athens, that's where it all started," said Rutledge.
As a member of the Halifax Road Hammers running club, he hopes to inspire others and show that it's not too late to get into gear and start running.
"Age is not a limit for it. If your body can take it, you should be doing it," said Rutledge.
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